Tropical Cyclones: Should they be retired? (HurricaneLucas4064)
In this article, I will be examining each Atlantic, East Pacific, etc. season from a particular year to see what should and shouldn't be retired. Enjoy! - HurricaneLucas4064 Atlantic 1979 David - With damages of $5.4 billion (2019 USD), this storm did deserve retirement, in the 1970s, $1 billion was a lot on money and in inflation it makes the storm look much worse. A death toll of 2068 also made sure this storm got the boot. Frederic - $6.2 billion (2019 USD) in damages is a lot of many in this time period, which is a good reason the name was retired. A death toll of 12 isn't that impressive for a storm to be retired, but the damages were high enough for the storm to be retired. 1980 Allen - Hmm... I wonder if $4.8 billion (2019 USD) is enough for a storm to be retired... It sure is! This storm was ne of the strongest and most intense of its time and surely packed a punch for land. 290 fatalities increased the likelihood for retirement. 1981 None! 1982 None! 1983 Alicia - This storm must have been unexpected with the lack of activity... well kind of... $7.7 billion (2019 USD) in damages is a lot for a storm in this time period, and this storm definitely stood out from the rest in 1983. 1984 None! 1985 Elena - Ahh, the storm that was frustrating to forecast... $3.1 billion (2019 USD) is definitely enough for a storm to get retired. The storm did bring headaches to Florida and the Southeast, and took a while to make landfall... Gloria - This storm was awfully close to becoming a Category 5, I think it may have actually been one. The storm caused $2.1 billion (2019 USD) in damages, closely following Elena earlier in the same month. What a year for the United States. Juan - Ding! Ding! Ding! The first storm not to be retired is here! This should have been retired as it caused $3.5 billion (2019 USD), more than Elena and Gloria! This storm may have been overlooked, but it caused significant flooding in the southeast because of it stalling for so long. Kate - Although the storm caused $700 million (1985 USD), in inflation, the damages are $1.7 billion (2019 USD). This storm probably should have been retired due to the major impacts in the Southeast. That would make the total for the season four retired names... if this scenario happened. 1986 None! 1987 None! 1988 Gilbert - With claiming the title of the most intense Atlantic hurricane at the time, causing $6.4 billion (2019 USD) in damages, and killing 316 people, this storm was a definite 'yes' to being retired. No questions asked, this is retired. Joan - Yes, we know this storm crossed into the East Pacific and be renamed Miriam, but the first part of this storm was awful. Joan caused $4 billion (2019 USD) in damages and killed 216 people in the aftermath of its voyage through Central America. 1989 Allison - This storm is iffy. It does depend on its damage total as its total ranges from $738 million to $1.1 billion (2019 USD). Significant flooding occurred from this storm and I could see why this storm would be retired, but I'm mostly neutral for Allison. Hugo - Another storm breaking the record for costliest hurricane at $19.4 billion (2019 USD). This storm was also fairly deadly, killing 60 along its path. This storm definitely deserved retirement (thankfully it was) it is one of the more notoriously known hurricanes in modern times. 1990 Diana - I'm neutral here as well. Damages are not very impressive with the damage total standing at $176.4 million (2019 USD). The death toll, however, shows that this storm was quite impactful, with it at 139. I really don't know if this storm deserved retirement or not. Klaus - This did not deserve retirement. At all. I don't know if the NHC did not like the name, but this was not a storm to retire. It caused $2 million (2019 USD) and killed 11. Uh... this does not meet my retirement criteria. Not even close! 1991 Bob - With $2.8 billion (2019 USD) in damages and a death toll of 17, Bob did achieve retirement. This was an awful storm for the Northeast and was very historic. This, and maybe Claudette, were the top highlights for this season. 1992 Andrew - You cannot even argue with this number: $49.5 billion (2019 USD). I mean, you really can't. You definitely can't say that this did not deserve retirement. Costliest storm until Katrina. This is widely known to everyone. Just don't argue with this storm. At all! 1993 Bret - While damage from this storm wasn't all that impressive at $66 million (2019 USD), the death toll was quite high at 213. Bret's journey through northern South America and Central America caused the fatalities, and this probably would be the case even with an invest. I'm neutral here. 1994 Alberto - This storm caused $1.8 billion (2019 USD) in damages and was not retired. How is that? To be honest, I really don't know the death toll was even up there with it at 30. How in the world was Alberto not retired is a question to ask the WMO in person. Gordon - Another storm in the same season that deserved retirement but was left out. With $1 billion (2019 USD) in damages and a really high death toll of 1,149, this storm deserved retirement even more than Alberto did. The WMO did not do a great job of retiring storms this season. 1995 Erin - This storm probably deserved to be retired. It caused $1.2 billion (2019 USD) in damages across the Southeastern United States. Although its damages were $700 million in 1995, this storm most likely should have been retired. Luis - It's very safe to say that this storm achieved retirement. With $5.5 billion (2019 USD) in damages, this storm was definitely one to remember across the northern Caribbean and southeastern Canada. It seems that this storm is underestimated, though. Marilyn - This storm caused $3.5 billion (2019 USD) in damages across its voyage through the northern Caribbean islands. I also believe that Marilyn is underestimated by many, but some of these 1995 storms need more recognition. Opal - With $7.8 billion (2019 USD) in damages and 77 deaths, this storm safely achieved retirement and was a very bad storm for Mexico and the Southeastern United States. This was a rather intense Category 4 storm, maybe the most intense Cat. 4 in the basin on record. Roxanne - This storm created a lot of misery in northern Central America and Mexico, with it meandering north of Mexico. This storm caused $2.5 billion (2019 USD) in total damages and killed 29 people along its journey. 1996 Cesar - This system only caused $330.6 million (2019 USD) in damages, but on the other hand, it killed 113 people in Central America. This is probably a good retirement, but I don't know if the damage is enough. The death toll is more impressive than damages. Fran - This storm is a definite retirement. Thankfully, it was retired, with damages over $8.1 billion (2019 USD). This storm also killed 37 people after landfall in North Carolina. This storm's image is one of the most famous in the world. Hortense - This shouldn't have been retired, in my opinion. Only $257.3 million (2019 USD) in damages and killed a decent 39. Sure, Hortense killed a whopping two more people than Fran, but I really don't think its damages and deaths meet with my criteria. Lili - This storm caused $1.1 billion (2019 USD) in total damages and killed 22 people, mostly from impacts in Cuba and the Bahamas. This could have easily been retired, but at the time, damages were only $662 million. 1997 None! 1998 Bonnie - Another $1< billion storm to not be retired. Bonnie caused $1.6 billion (2019 USD) and was still not retired. Sure, it only killed 5 people, but the damages were awfully high for a non-retired storm, especially in the 1990s Georges - You can't even argue with the fact that this storm was retired. $21.7 billion (2019 USD) is a lot of damage for a storm during this time. And to add to the severity of the storm, 604 people were killed in either the United States or the Caribbean. Mitch - Same goes for Mitch, a very well known storm. Its death toll was the second largest by any hurricane in the Atlantic at ≥11,374. Its damages were also $9.5 billion (2019 USD) which makes the storm even worse. 1999 Floyd - Irene - Lenny - 2000 Debby - Keith - Leslie - 2001 Allison - Iris - Michelle - 2002 Isidore - Lili - 2003 Fabian - Isabel - Juan - 2004 Charley - Frances - Ivan - Jeanne - 2005 Dennis - Emily - Katrina - Rita - Stan - Wilma - 2006 None! 2007 Dean - Felix - Noel - 2008 Dolly - Gustav - Hanna - Ike - Paloma - 2009 None! 2010 Alex - Hermine - Igor - Karl - Tomas - 2011 Irene - Lee - 2012 Isaac - Sandy - 2013 Ingrid - 2014 None! 2015 Erika - Joaquin - 2016 Earl - Hermine - Matthew - Otto - 2017 Harvey - Irma - Maria - Nate - 2018 Florence - Michael - Eastern/Central Pacific Western Pacific PAGASA Australian region South Pacific Category:Lists